Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-03-03
COOPERATION IN ITALY.
How the Italian Working Glasses Reduce
Their Living Expenses.


The cooperative congress recently
held in Milan, Italy, was notable by
reason of the presence of George Jacob
Holyoake, Signor Fougerousse, Vansit-
tant Neale, Francesca Vigano and 9th
er leaders in this movement. A brief
sketch of cooperation in Italy shows
steady progress. The first cooperative
store, founded in Turin, 1850, now
counts 1000 members. OF the total
300, 139 are mere stores; then there are
8 immense bread factories and ovens,
Al workshops, Is building societies,
20 loan banks for workmen and peas
ants, 16 large diaries. The first coop
erative. workshop was formed by the
glass-workers near Savona, and the
Government, seeming socialism, made
great efforts to suppress it, but it is
now fourishing and numbers 1900
members. At Lecco the co-operators
of the vinicola have also been success
full, and annually distribute a portion of
their wine to the poor. All the
Italian societies set aside portion
of the profits for social and ed
ucational purposes, the workmen
of Bologna twenty per cent. of net
profits for education; the miners of
Eglesias, in Sardinia, half for the aged
and such as can work no longer. The
society of work and loans of Bertinoro
has assumed large undertakings, build
ing houses and making roads; even in
times of industrial depression there has
always been work for laborers, whose
salary has been raised fifteen per cent.
-Four societies of day laborers have
been formed at Budrio, Villanova,
Villaprati and Ravenna, successful all;
and as this class is the very poorest OF
agricultural laborers, their success Is
one of the most hopeful signs of coop
Grafton. The object of the congress
was to promote the federation of all
existing Italian societies; and after
some lively discussion and not with.
out considerable opposition, the fol
lowing order of the day was passed
"'This congress affirms the necessity
and urgency of federation between
the Italian cooperative societies which
shall respect the autonomy of al
separate associations, and appoints
committee to formulate the
statute" Among the letters re-
ceiyed was one from the venera
Bile Aurelio Saffi: Cooperation" h,
writes, "harmonizing association ant
liberty, is destined to solve in grea
part not only social, but moral and pc
litical questions, because the law of de
velopment of the human faculties is in
timately connected with the co-opera
ton of individuals for the increase o
the value of the whole community, ant
with the mutual guardianship of com
mon rights insuring the free fulfillmen
of common duties. Those who labo
as you do to substitute the ties of &C
operation in all its aspects for priv
leges and class distinctions, are layin;
the foundation of national association
on the basis OF civil equity, uniting
them under the auspices of mutua
justice. Hence cooperation is the frs
and safest step towards fraternity an
peace, to be reached by an equal an
free federation of nations. It is true
as you say, that the peoples ought t
form vast cooperation of labor an
of reciprocal help thus divesting civ
ilization of its last vestiges of barbal
ism, and developing by progressiv
steps all the power of intellect and a
lection existing in the peoples for tn
entertainment of the moral and socis
aims of life. "-Age of Steel.